Moringa oleifera

Moringa
Der Wunderbaum
oleifera
the miracle
tree
Why do we call Moringa
oleifera a miracle tree?
First, because of its nutritional
properties

The leaves
contain
• Vitamins
• Protein
• Minerals
 Moringa leaves contain

Source: Trees for Life

www.treesforlife.org
 Moringa oleifera contains
Per 100g Moringa leaf Fresh leaves
powder
Calories 205.0 92
Protein (g) 27.1 6.7
Fat (g) 2.3 1.7
Carbohydrate (g) 38.2 12.5
Fibre (g) 19.2 0.9

Source: Fuglie, Lowell J., ed. The Miracle Tree: Moringa oleifera: Natural Nutrition for the
Tropics. Training Manual. 2001. Church World Service, Dakar, Senegal.
<www.moringatrees.org/moringa/ miracletree.html>, May 2002.
 Moringa oleifera: Minerals
Per100g Moringa leaf Fresh leaves
powder
Ca (mg) 2.003 440
Mg (mg) 368 42
P (mg) 204 70
K (mg) 1.324 259
Cu (mg) 0,6 0,07
Fe (mg) 28 0,85
 Moringa oleifera: Vitamins
mg Moringa leaf Fresh
powder leavesr
Vitamin A - B carotene 16.3 6.78
Vitamin B1 - thiamin 2.6 0.06
Vitamin B2 - riboflavin 20.5 0.05
Vitamin B3 - nicotinic acid 8.2 0.8
Vitamin C - ascorbic acid 17.3 220
Vitamin E - tocopherol acetate 113.0 k.A.
 Essential Amino Acids
mg per 100g Moringa leaf Fresh leaves
powder
Arginine 1325 406
Histidine 613 150
Isoleucine 825 300
Leucine 1950 492
Lysine 1325 342
Methionine 350 118
Phenylalanine 1388 310
Threonine 1188 118
Tryptophan 425 107
Valine 1063 375
 Moringa leaf powder
How do we make
moringa leaf
powder??
1. Pick the leaves.
2. Wash them in
salt water and
then again in
fresh water.
3. Dry them in the
shade.
 Moringa leaf powder
4. When they
are
completely
dry, pound
them.

5. Rub them
through a
sieve.
 Moringa leaf
powder

6. Store in labelled jars

or bags and keep in
a dry, dark place.
 Moringa leaf powder
Then it is ready for use

As here, with
under-
nourished
children,
in Adi,
D. R. Kongo
Use moringa leaf powder

especially with …

• undernourished children
• pregnant women
• breast feeding mothers
• AIDS Patients
 And how?

Mix one
heaped
teaspoonful
three times a
day into the
food.

Simple!
 Side effects
All are positive! For example:
• Diarrhoea ceases.
• Fungal infections on the skin disappear.
• Diabetes is stabilised.
• Anaemia improves.
• Tummy problems are helped.
 One may also use the flowers
As tea to treat
colds. In
omelettes they
taste like
mushrooms.

Caution: flowers may

prevent conception,
and if used during
pregnancy they may
cause abortion
 And also the pods

When they
are young,
cook the
pods as a
vegetable.
When older,
cook the
white seeds
like peas.
 Also use with
HIV/AIDS
Patients
Take Moringa oleifera
every day with the meals.
Used together with
Artemisia annua anamed
tea, it can be just as
effective as anti-retroviral
(ARV) drugs, but without
the usual side-effects.
Use moringa to purify water

For 20
litres of
water
one
needs
10
seeds
 Procedure
1. Remove the shells.

2. Pound the white seeds.

3. Put the pounded seeds into a

soda bottle with a little clean
water and shake vigorously for
5 minutes.
4. Pour through a sieve
5. Stir slowly for 15
minutes

6. and wait!
 In Kendu Bay, on the shores of
Lake Victoria
it really was like a
miracle.

Heavy rains had caused

the lake water to turn
brown.

After using moringa

seeds, we could drink tea
made with lake water –
and taste the tea!
 Almost every part is useful

• Leaves
• Flowers
• Seeds
• Roots
• Pods
 Where does this tree grow?
• In tropical and sub-tropical semi-arid climates up
to a height of about 1500 m.
• Where the rainfall lies between 250 and 3000 mm
per year
• On light clay or sandy soils.
• Even where droughts occur
• And even where short term flooding occurs.
 Everyone should plant many
moringa trees!
Sow the seeds in
good earth or damp paper
 Set up a nursery!

like
here in
Bassar,
Togo
 Make a hedge, or a plantation
• Transplant into
good earth in a
large hole.
• Put a lot of
compost in the
hole and then
cover the ground
with mulch.
 Constantly
trim the
branches!

in order to produce the maximum amount of leaves

and seeds!
 In tropical climates the trees can be cut back 7 or 8 times a year.
 In a plantation one can produce up to 120 tons of dry leaves per
hectare and year!
Source: Prof. Dr. K. Becker, University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim
Can you now believe that Moringa
oleifera is a miracle tree?
 Moringa stenopetala
There are
other very
important
moringa trees.
M.
Stenopetala
grows in
Ethiopia.
It has similar
properties to
M. oleifera.
 Moringa stenopetala…
is also used as a
vegetable.

The tree is bigger

than M. oleifera –
leaves, pods,
seeds, everything.

But it has not been

so thoroughly
researched.
Thank you!

Moringa oleifera